Predict and Ensure Safe Choices for the New Year!

Happy New Year!! We’ve made it through Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. Now it’s time for football parties, crawfish boils and Mardi Gras parades (we sure do spend a lot of time celebrating . . . everything)!

It’s also a time when we see more accidents from impaired driving and more injuries from too much celebrating.

A speaker at a conference I attended years ago made the statement: “If it’s predictable, it’s preventable.” Think about that for just a minute. I think it’s one of the most accurate statements I’ve ever heard.

Station House BSL
is sponsored by

Most adults should be able to predict the outcome of bad choices and reckless behavior and therefore, much of the time, prevent the same. So please make responsible choices when engaging in fun activities. Keep them fun, and set an example for children and young adults. They pay attention to what we do and how we act more than you might realize.

Always have a designated driver. Don’t use alcohol along with prescription medication. And please make sure your children know that they won’t be in trouble, ever, for asking you to come get them after they’ve been out partying or drinking. And if the party (for kids or adults) is at your house, make sure no one drives home “impaired."

Be aware of your surroundings when you are in large crowds; watch the people around you who might have had just a little too much partying. If even one person is “getting out of hand,” it’s fairly predictable what will happen. It’s safer to leave the area and if needed, notify the police.

It’s a new year, and it’s a great time of year with a lot of fun things going on. I predict if you make smart choices in all of your activities, you’ll prevent bad things from ruining a fun time. Have a safe 2016!